Celebrated local chef Susan Spicer has been named the 2014 grand marshall of the Krewe of Nyx. Spicer, who owns Bayona in the French Quarter and Mondo in Lakeview, will lead the 1,230-member all-female krewe when it rolls Uptown on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.

"I've been dying to ride in a Mardi Gras parade for ages," Spicer said.

Two decades ago, the chef once rode with Pontchartrain on the West Bank. Since then, the obligations of running her restaurants kept her too busy to join a krewe.

Nyx actually invited Spicer to be the grand marshall last year, but she had to decline because of the Super Bowl.

Spicer said her grand marshall duties are not extensive. She was presented at the Nyx ball Feb. 1. Before the parade, she judges a headdress competition. After that, the krewe only asks that she enjoy the ride.